James Neal

James Neal's hat trick carries Predators to victory

Nashville Predators forward James Neal scored his sixth career hat trick in the Predators' 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night.

What It Means:

Neal now has 26 goals and 18 assists this season for a grand total of 44 points in 70 games played. He has five points in his past five games and is in the top 20 in goal scoring this season. With 26 goals, Neal is currently tied with Johnny Gaudreau, Daniel Sedin, John Tavares and Loui Eriksson in goal scoring -- pretty good company.

We project Neal to tally another five goals and four assists this season. His 54.7 Corsi For Percentage and 2.7 Relative Corsi For Percentage at Even Strength are down from last season's numbers, but both are still well above his career averages.